Editing


Process

Here is a brief outline of the editing process. Click on the steps for a more detailed description and instructions.

Step 1 Send your document and place order
Step 2 First edit
Step 3 Author/editor discussion (Q&A)
Step 4 Second edit
Step 5 Invoicing and payment



















Step 1   Send your document and place order

Preparing your document

Text. Prepare a file containing the text of your document, including title, abstract, main body, equations and formulae, references, and figure and table captions. File formats accepted: Microsoft Word (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf), LATEX (.tex or .txt), and plain text (.txt).

Figures, tables, and images. We prefer to receive your figures, tables, and other images in a separate file from the text. File formats accepted: Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf), Postscript (.ps), standard graphics formats (.jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png, .tif, .emf), Microsoft Powerpoint (.ppt), Microsoft Excel (.xls), and Adobe Illustrator (.ai).

Presentations and camera-ready documents For presentations, camera-ready documents, and other documents containing figures and tables laid-out with the text, you can send us a single file containing both text and graphics. (If possible, please also send a PDF version.)

Compressed files. If your files are large or if you need to send us numerous files, please compress them. We can accept most compression formats, including ZIP, Stuffit, LHA, TAR, GZIP, and BinHex. (Note: our online form can accept up to four attachments, 10 MB each.)


Sending your document

Use one of the following methods to send your document.


Get quote and place order

Once we have received your files, we will send you an acknowledgement message by email. Then, within 24 hours and often within a few hours (excluding weekends and holidays), we will send you a firm quotation by email showing the cost and schedule. Once you accept our quotation, we will start editing your document.

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Step 2   First edit

We will edit your document as described on the editing overview page.

During this edit, we will add comments and questions about any unclear portions or to ask you to confirm our revisions. You should read these comments and respond as described in Step 3 below, 'Author/editor discussion (Q&A)'.

After the first edit, we will send back:

  1. A 'Clean' version of your document with all our revisions applied. This document will be in the same format as your original, for example, Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format, LATEX, Powerpoint etc.
  2. A 'Marked up' version showing all our revisions in a different color. This will allow you to easily see what we changed, added, or deleted so that you may check our revisions.
  3. A list of comments and questions for discussion. If you send us a Microsoft Word document, these comments will be inserted into your file using the Comment feature of Word. For Rich Text Format, LATEX and Powerpoint documents, we will list the comments in a separate file.

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Step 3   Author/editor discussion (Q&A)

Here is a brief description of the author/editor discussion step.

  1. Using the Marked Up version of your document (see Step 2 above, 'First Edit'), you should review the edited document and confirm that all our revisions reflect your intentions.
  2. Read the editor's questions and comments and write your responses. If you need clarification or further discussion, you can communicate with the editor via email. Since our editors are native English speakers, please write your responses in English.
  3. If you wish to make any changes, use the Clean version. Please note that the second edit (see Step 4 below) is designed mainly for re-editing the points under discussion in this Q&A step. Therefore, if you make substantial changes or additions to other parts of the document, there may be an additional charge for editing the new material.
  4. Send back your responses and the Clean version of your document if you made any changes.

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Step 4   Second edit

We carry out the second edit based on your responses to our questions and any additional changes you made. We then send back the final version of your document, both Clean and Marked Up versions. All comments and revision marks are removed from the Clean version to make it ready for publication or distribution to your audience. The Marked Up version will show any revisions we made in the second edit.

For documents that will be submitted to academic journals for publication, we will provide you with an 'Editing Certificate' (free of charge) stating that your document has been edited by a native-English-speaking science editor. This often helps to avoid problems in the review process.

This completes our comprehensive editing service. Any further editing after this stage will incur additional charges.

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Step 5   Invoicing and payment

We will send you invoice documents in any format you require. We usually request payment within one month, but your organization may settle the invoice according to its standard payment procedures. Payment should be made by bank transfer to our account (details are provided on the invoice).

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